Pfister studied
theology,
philosophy and
psychology at the
University of Zurich and the
University of Basel, graduating in 1898 in the philosophical faculty. He then became a pastor, serving in
Wald (
canton of Zurich) until 1920. He is remembered for his efforts involving the application of
psychoanalysis to the
science of education, as well as his belief system in a synthesis of psychology and theology. Pfister was a pioneer of modern Swiss psychology, belonging to a psychoanalytical circle in Zurich that was centered on
Eugen Bleuler and
Carl Jung. In 1919, he formed the
Swiss Society for Psychoanalysis. Although the psychiatrist
Emil Oberholzer founded a separate
Swiss Medical Society for Psychoanalysis in 1928, Pfister stuck with the group he had started, defending
Sigmund Freud's position on
lay analysis that Oberholzer's group rejected. Pfister was an early associate of Freud, maintaining an ongoing correspondence with him from 1909 to 1939 (the year of Freud's death). Pfister believed that theology and psychology were compatible disciplines and advocated the concept of a "Christian Eros". He was especially interested in Freud's concepts of the
Oedipus complex,
castration anxiety and infantile sexuality. From a religious standpoint, Pfister advocated a return to what he saw as the original fundamental teachings of
Jesus Christ. The
Oskar Pfister Award is awarded by the
American Psychiatric Association, with the Association of Professional Chaplains, for significant contributions to the field of religion and psychiatry. He was the uncle of
Rudolf Pfister. == Selected writings ==